
Solve Challenge Finals 2019
Apella | New York CitySolve Challenge Finals 2019
Innovators from around the world traveled to New York City to pitch their solutions. If you were unable to attend, watch the pitch and plenary session videos below.
Watch the Opening Plenary: Bridging the SDG Innovation Gap
<span id="selection-marker-1" class="redactor-selection-marker"></span>Watch the Closing Plenary: Inclusive Innovation and Entrepreneurship
<span id="selection-marker-1" class="redactor-selection-marker"></span>Click here to watch all the Solver and Finalist pitches
Solve Challenge Finals is the premier social impact pitch event during UN General Assembly week in New York City. During this event, 61 finalists in our 2019 Global Challenges will pitch their solutions to a panel of expert judges and a live audience of 400+ leaders from the Solve community. The most promising 32 finalists will be selected to form the next Solver class, joining the Solve community to build partnerships with cross-sector leaders—including Members such as Starbucks, HP, Johnson & Johnson, and Save the Children—to pilot, scale, and implement their tech solutions.
This year, there is over $1.5 million in prize funding available for selected Solver teams, and recipients of the following Challenge prizes, among others, will be announced:
- The AI Innovations Prize supported by the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and Schmidt Futures
- The GM Prize on Community-Driven Innovation and the GM Prize on Circular Economy
- Innovation for Women Prize supported by the Vodafone Americas Foundation
- The Morgridge Family Foundation Community-Driven Innovation Prize
If you’re interested in attending this premier social impact event—and joining the Solve community to partner with innovators who are solving Global Challenges—find out how you can become a Member of Solve, or reach out to us at membership@solve.mit.edu.
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#SolveChallengeFinals is the premier social impact pitch event during #UNGeneralAssembly in New York. 61 finalists in @solvemit’s 2019 Global Challenges will pitch to a live audience + judges for $1.6M in funding. Join the livestream on September 22: https://solve.mit.edu/events/solve-challenge-finals-2019
Bridging the SDG Innovation Gap
In the past few decades, the world has made great progress on complex global challenges: more than 1 billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty, child mortality has dropped more than 50 percent, and the number of children out of primary school has nearly been cut in half. However, to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, we will need to bridge an estimated funding gap of $2.5 trillion per annum as well as a vast innovation gap. We cannot solve today’s challenges by relying solely on scaling today’s solutions—we must invest in new innovative technologies and business models. In doing so, we may also be able to reduce the unit cost of achieving the SDGs. How can we encourage more early-stage prototyping and piloting to develop and validate innovations that are ready to scale?
Join Solve to learn how we can create innovation ecosystems that will help build a pipeline of world-changing ideas to achieve the SDGs.
Featured Speakers

Sanjay Sarma
Vice President for Open Learning, MIT
M. Sanjayan, Ph.D.
CEO, Conservation International
Anousheh Ansari
CEO, XPRIZEHow can citizens and communities create and improve social inclusion and shared prosperity? Learn about our Community-Driven Innovation Challenge and the finalists pitching their solutions in this session.
Session Speakers

Samuel Kellerhals
Co-Founder, Elpis Solar
Lucas Madureira dos Anjos
CEO, Gedanken
Yuriko Oda
CEO, WheeLog
Shirley Do
Co-Founder and Global Operations Director, R2 Social Limited
Natasha Freidus
Co-Founder and CEO, NeedsList PBC
Nathaniel Manning
CEO, Dispatcher
Diego Mendiburu
Project Manager, Supercívicos
Mustafa Othman
Co-Founder and Communication and Technology Manager, Shaqodoon Organization
Kamil Shafiq
Co-Founder and CEO, POKET
Sonya Passi
Founder and CEO, FreeFrom
Madhura Karnik
Chief Growth Officer, Haqdarshak Empowerment Solutions Private Limited
Diana Duarte Gómez
CEO and Co-Founder, DIVERSA
Anirudh Koul
Head of AI and Research, Aira
Toi Eshun
Director, Marketing and Communications, Year Up and Grads of Life
Jérémy Lachal
Executive Director, Libraries Without BordersHow can urban residents design and live in environments that promote physical and mental health? Learn about our Healthy Cities Challenge and the finalists pitching their solutions in this session.
Session Speakers

Mauricio Cordova
Founder, Faircap CIC
Saba Khalid
Founder, Aurat Raaj
Aadish Rakhecha
Co-founder, InSanirator
Ameya Bondre
Head of Clinical Research and Development, CareNX Innovations Private Limited
Abhilasha Purwar
Founder and CEO, Blue Sky Analytics
Katherine Clayton
Co-Founder and CEO, OmniVis Inc
Diana Yousef
Founder and CEO, change:WATER Labs-responsive.jpg)
Emily Young
Executive Director, The Okoa Project
Michael Coto
CEO, Majico
Kevin Hall
Co-Founder, EatWell Meal Kits
Jonathan Jay
Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Public Health
Elijah Hoole
CEO, Kayal Technologies
Javier Okhuysen
Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Salauno
Julio Dantas
CEO, Neurobots
Tim Makris
Co-Founder and Managing Director, Sandy Hook Promise-responsive.png)
Bob Filbin
Co-Founder and Chief Data Scientist, Crisis Text LineHow can all children under five develop the critical learning and cognitive skills they need to reach their full potential? Learn about our Early Childhood Development Challenge and the finalists pitching their solutions in this session.
Session Speakers
Michael Lwin

Adeloye Olanrewaju
CEO, Babymigo
Sneha Sheth
Co-Founder and CEO, Dost Education
James da Costa
Co-Founder, teleStory
Seemant Dadwal
CEO, Meraki Margdarshak
Nadine Gaab
Associate Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Jessica Toh
Co-Founder and CEO, Huckleberry Labs, Inc.
Eric Brace
Director of Programs, Living First Languages Platform Company
Morgan Lance
CEO, OneSky for all children
Ruchit Nagar
CEO, Khushi Baby Inc.
Lindsay Hyde
Partner, Wildflower Schools
Dinesh Krishna
Director of Strategy, Enabling Inclusion , Amar Seva Sangam
Luis Garza
Founder and CEO, Kinedu
Michail Boloudakis
CEO, Kinems, Inc.
Andrea Fahed
Education Officer, Lebanese Alternative LearningHow can people create and consume goods that are renewable, repairable, reusable, and recyclable? Learn about our Circular Economy Challenge and the finalists pitching their solutions in this session.
Session Speakers

Nicole Bassett
Co-Founder, The Renewal Workshop
Adi Reza Nugroho
CEO, Mycotech
Stephanie Benedetto
Co-Founder and CEO, Queen of Raw
Anirudh Sharma
Co-Founder and Lead Scientist, MIT Media Lab
Scott Kennedy
Co-Founder, Revive Eco Ltd.
Ravish Majithia
CEO, Magnomer
Michael Groves
CEO, Topolytics
Jocelyn Doucet
CEO, Pyrowave
Javier Larragoiti
Co-Founder & CEO, Xilinat
Priscilla Asonibare
Communications Lead, Hello Tractor
Garry Cooper
CEO, Rheaply
Miranda Wang
Co-Founder and CEO, BioCellection Inc
Chris Stern
CEO, Carbicrete
Crystal Dreisbach
Co-Founder, GreenToGo, Founder and Executive Director, Don't Waste Durham
José Manuel Moller
Founder and CEO, AlgramoInclusive Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Talent and ingenuity are equally distributed around the globe, yet opportunities to unlock them are not. A person’s zip code, skin color, nationality, and gender still overly determine their access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunity. The same is true of securing funding and support as an entrepreneur. Since 2012, the percentage of women-founded, venture-backed companies globally has stayed stagnant at 17 percent. Further, 72 percent of all venture capital in the United States is invested in tech startups in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, and Boston, while philanthropic and VC funding for social entrepreneurs in Africa remains minimal. How do we support and invest in diverse innovators who can leverage community insight to address complex global challenges?
Join Solve to learn how we can close these opportunity gaps and support innovators and entrepreneurs—wherever they come from.
Featured Speakers

Sara Menker
CEO, Gro Intelligence
Monique Idlett
Founder and Managing Partner, Reign Ventures
D. Fox Harrell
Professor of Digital Media and Artificial Intelligence; Director, MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality, MIT
Fred Swaniker
Founder, African Leadership Group
Zaria Forman
Artist
Emi Mahmoud
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
Jesper Brodin
President and CEO, Ingka Group (IKEA)
Vijay Vaitheeswaran
US Business Editor, The Economist
Heather Clancy
Editorial Director, GreenBizFeatured Speakers

Sanjay Sarma
Vice President for Open Learning, MIT
M. Sanjayan, Ph.D.
CEO, Conservation International
Anousheh Ansari
CEO, XPRIZE
Sara Menker
CEO, Gro Intelligence
Monique Idlett
Founder and Managing Partner, Reign Ventures
D. Fox Harrell
Professor of Digital Media and Artificial Intelligence; Director, MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality, MIT
Fred Swaniker
Founder, African Leadership Group
Zaria Forman
Artist
Emi Mahmoud
UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
Jesper Brodin
President and CEO, Ingka Group (IKEA)
Vijay Vaitheeswaran
US Business Editor, The Economist
Heather Clancy
Editorial Director, GreenBizSpeakers

Samuel Kellerhals
Co-Founder, Elpis Solar
Lucas Madureira dos Anjos
CEO, Gedanken
Yuriko Oda
CEO, WheeLog
Shirley Do
Co-Founder and Global Operations Director, R2 Social Limited
Natasha Freidus
Co-Founder and CEO, NeedsList PBC
Nathaniel Manning
CEO, Dispatcher
Diego Mendiburu
Project Manager, Supercívicos
Mustafa Othman
Co-Founder and Communication and Technology Manager, Shaqodoon Organization
Kamil Shafiq
Co-Founder and CEO, POKET
Sonya Passi
Founder and CEO, FreeFrom
Madhura Karnik
Chief Growth Officer, Haqdarshak Empowerment Solutions Private Limited
Diana Duarte Gómez
CEO and Co-Founder, DIVERSA
Anirudh Koul
Head of AI and Research, Aira
Toi Eshun
Director, Marketing and Communications, Year Up and Grads of Life
Jérémy Lachal
Executive Director, Libraries Without Borders
Mauricio Cordova
Founder, Faircap CIC
Saba Khalid
Founder, Aurat Raaj
Aadish Rakhecha
Co-founder, InSanirator
Ameya Bondre
Head of Clinical Research and Development, CareNX Innovations Private Limited
Abhilasha Purwar
Founder and CEO, Blue Sky Analytics
Katherine Clayton
Co-Founder and CEO, OmniVis Inc
Diana Yousef
Founder and CEO, change:WATER Labs-responsive.jpg)
Emily Young
Executive Director, The Okoa Project
Michael Coto
CEO, Majico
Kevin Hall
Co-Founder, EatWell Meal Kits
Jonathan Jay
Assistant Professor, Boston University School of Public Health
Elijah Hoole
CEO, Kayal Technologies
Javier Okhuysen
Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Salauno
Julio Dantas
CEO, Neurobots
Tim Makris
Co-Founder and Managing Director, Sandy Hook Promise-responsive.png)
Bob Filbin
Co-Founder and Chief Data Scientist, Crisis Text LineMichael Lwin

Adeloye Olanrewaju
CEO, Babymigo
Sneha Sheth
Co-Founder and CEO, Dost Education
James da Costa
Co-Founder, teleStory
Seemant Dadwal
CEO, Meraki Margdarshak
Nadine Gaab
Associate Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Jessica Toh
Co-Founder and CEO, Huckleberry Labs, Inc.
Eric Brace
Director of Programs, Living First Languages Platform Company
Morgan Lance
CEO, OneSky for all children
Ruchit Nagar
CEO, Khushi Baby Inc.
Lindsay Hyde
Partner, Wildflower Schools
Dinesh Krishna
Director of Strategy, Enabling Inclusion , Amar Seva Sangam
Luis Garza
Founder and CEO, Kinedu
Michail Boloudakis
CEO, Kinems, Inc.
Andrea Fahed
Education Officer, Lebanese Alternative Learning
Nicole Bassett
Co-Founder, The Renewal Workshop
Adi Reza Nugroho
CEO, Mycotech
Stephanie Benedetto
Co-Founder and CEO, Queen of Raw
Anirudh Sharma
Co-Founder and Lead Scientist, MIT Media Lab
Scott Kennedy
Co-Founder, Revive Eco Ltd.
Ravish Majithia
CEO, Magnomer
Michael Groves
CEO, Topolytics
Jocelyn Doucet
CEO, Pyrowave
Javier Larragoiti
Co-Founder & CEO, Xilinat
Priscilla Asonibare
Communications Lead, Hello Tractor
Garry Cooper
CEO, Rheaply
Miranda Wang
Co-Founder and CEO, BioCellection Inc
Chris Stern
CEO, Carbicrete
Crystal Dreisbach
Co-Founder, GreenToGo, Founder and Executive Director, Don't Waste Durham